Getting Ready to pull the Trigger!

WERNER1

WERNER1

Inspired
Ok guys,.. this might get a bit long but I want to present all of my needs and concerns clearly :)

I come from 1/2 Stack background,.. then onto all rack gear,.. then to a good tube clean channel and tons of pedals,.. and most recently (Past 2 years) a Boss GT-100 running direct FOH/In ears. I've also spent a lot of time with an Axe FX II Mark 2 so I'm pretty familiar with the Axe Edit and everything,.. or at least enough to get my self in trouble.. :D

I almost bought that Axe FX unit from my buddy, but I was really diggin' the simplicity of the GT-100,.. just carry it in, hook up via XLR out, power, guitar,..and GO! ...then the AX8 comes out!!!


So here's my set up and a few specific questions if you all don't mind...


Set up / Needs - I'm running direct (Mono) - I'll probably use a volume/expression pedal just for volume. Nothing in the loop or infront,.. just the AX8

Mono- Unfortunately we do not have the flexibility for me to Run Stereo at this point so I'm curious as to the best way to design the patches,... with the GT100 if you only used the L/Mono output the unit automatically converted any stereo type settings to mono so I didn't really have to worry about it when creating a patch/preset.

Layout/Scenes - It looks like the AX8 can be set up pretty much any way you prefer in regards to the 8 foot switches,.. either to engage/de-select an effect/pedal, or change scenes,.. or patches.. or a combination of everything -- plus the whole X/Y thing..(?) Typically I will play a 4-6 song set,.. some of the songs have specific patches I would have to develop for them,.. others can use "Standard" sounds/tons - The song list is always changing. (I play for church) Right now I typically have a patch for each song specifically dialed in with a few variations available with in that patch via two foot switches. I guess I'm just looking for suggestions here on what the "Best" way would be to set everything up,.. I know that's going to be very subjective :D

IR's and Other "add on's" - I see lots of Cab packs and things out there for the Axe FX stuff,... just wondering if there's a "Must Have" list of stuff out there that the majority of folks agree is definitely "worth it"?

Live Monitoring: I do find myself on occasion to play out and may not have access to in ear monitoring. I'd still probably like to go direct and maybe get a powered Wedge 2-way speaker for monitoring or something,... does that sound like the best option in this scenario?


I know it's a lot and I apologize,.. and info and suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Thanks
Rick
 
No worries, friend. The AX8 has you covered and MORE.

You can select to output the sum of l+r of all presets from the left output.

You can organize you presets any way you like. You could copy two or three genetic presets to 1,2,3 in each bank then presets 4-8 could song specific for instance.

After market IRs are not necessary in my opinion. There are plenty of stock IRs that sound great and a lot of variety.

I use a powered wedge or two when I need them and they sound great too.
 
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Yes. You have plenty of options for converting stereo, either by summing L+R or copying L to R. Controller set up is very personal. I don't use scenes much as I suffer from hand-eye-foot-brain confusion. I understand lots of people do use scenes and program IA switches on the controller to change. The advantage of using scenes is that if you use the same amp on both it eliminates the slight, but discernable, drop out when switching presets. I use my controller mostly to switch between presets and then to use stomp box mode in some of them. You just hold down the F1 switch to alternate between the two modes. For low weight, IMHO a powered wedge or cab is the way to go. There are lots of great options. I really like the Matrix FR12 cab as it sounds great, is in the middle on price and incredibly light. IRs really affect the sound, but they are a rabbit hole that you can disappear into. When you start, I suggest keeping it simple or you will find yourself spending more time tweaking and less time actually playing guitar.
 
I have bounced between tubes and digital for years. I just went to AX8 from Axe-FX IIXL for my theater gigs. I am really enjoying the advantages of the simplicity of set up. I have powered wedges, but I found for rehearsals I can actually get by plugging into the vocal channel of an AER Compact 60/2 acoustic amp and putting that on a chair a couple of feet away. That one is actually light enough that I can sling it over my shoulder, sling the guitar over the other, and carry the AX8 in in a converted turntable case.

The board only has one channel for guitar at the current theater I am in, but there are no worries with designing patches for mono. Rarely, does something odd creep in. Although I don't use L+R for mono, because I have had phase cancellations in the past within the stereo effects. The mono effects are of high quality, and it saves CPU.

As far as IR's, I have quite a few of the Cab Packs, but the only one I use regularly is Cab Pack 3: Ownhammer UltraRes. That was the one where they took good 1x12, 2x12, and 4x12 cabs and substituted a bunch of different speakers. I got that one for the purple Fanes for the HiWatt models, because I wasn't impressed with the High Res HiPower Cabs in the Axe FX IIXL and the AX8. But, it is worth having for the other 12's and the Scott Peterson mixes. That being said, the AX8 has a good selection of IR's, and I could get by without the Cab Pack most of the time.

For layout, I generally use scenes for everything where possible, because there are no drop outs when switching. When I was in a praise band a couple of years ago with just the Axe-FX2, I used to put generic tones across the bottom 5 switches(i.e. clean-drive-crunch-lead-ultra) and special cues the next row up on the MFC. But it depends on the song, if it was more complicated than could I could fit into the specials section, then I'd set up the whole board in cue order for a song. For the AX8, the only thing different that I am doing is assigning off/on switches. Because you can switch fairly quickly between scene selection and efx on/off selection modes. All this being said, you can set up the board in a way that makes sense for you.
 
Man, I got to say that your scenario fits the AX8 like a glove :)

For me reading your post is almost like reading the specs of "what the AX8 was designed for"...
 
Thanks so much for the replies guys,.. I'm getting closer on my Fundage for the unit,.. shouldn't be too much longer! :D
 
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